multi-year, multi-month, multiweek

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Jun 13, 2012, at 10:30 AM, Victor Steinbok wrote:

> I came across an article that mentioned "a multiyear low". Although
> completely transparent, this seems to be a deviation from the main sense
> of "multiyear" in OED.
>
>> That lasts, takes place over, or is valid for a number of years;
>> relating to more than one year.
>
> The quotes that illustrate the definition quite clearly intend the
> meaning of "a period of several years" (in adjectival sense). The
> "multiyear low" is not something that takes place over a period of
> years, but rather the local minimum that is separated from another one
> by several years.

that makes 'multiyear low" entirely parallel to "ten-year low" 'low in a period of ten years' and the like.

arnold

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